The Origin of the Billiken
Zig-Zag Man
The Gates of Paradise by David Daniels

UBU

[more good concrete+sound poetry tips from k.goldsmith]
Zap Splitz Story
Gilbert Shelton's Fabulous Furry Freak Bros.
weblogs 101
wow. how bout matt haughey on the cover of brills content. heres the blurb.
From today's New York Times:

"Richard Evans Schultes, a swashbuckling scientist and influential Harvard University educator who was widely considered the preeminent authority on hallucinogenic and medicinal plants, died on Tuesday in Boston. He was 86 and lived in Waltham, a Boston suburb.
No one mentioned Basil Wolverton last night.

b.1909, his bio

WFMU's most self satisfied Douglas Wolk
jodi.org -or- 0100101110101101
Tangerine. 228 west 10th street NYC. 212.463.8585

Tangerine is a new Thai restaurant in the west village. If my sources are correct this is the first US venture for a prominent Hong Kong restaurant group. The space is sleek and modern. I think it looks good. The details (glasses, flatware, dishes, chairs) are some of the best I've seen. Obviously someone who knows about design is involved.

The food was quite enjoyable ranging on up to superb. The lobster pad thai was a personal fave. Lots of stuff for the fish and veggie crowd. The service, in marked contrast to everything else, was verging on comedy. I think there is some sort of language and/or cultural barrier adding to the mayhem. It didn't wreck our meal, but others, or even myself in a different mood, might have felt different. They are new, and I think they'll get it together, but for now don't expect too much in that department. On the other hand, maybe that will keep the crowds down for the time being. Quite empty when we went last week, but I bet it won't be for long. I guess this all amounts to a recommendation.
I was watching ccn last night as the plane taxied acoross the tarmac and took off live from china (7:30 pm edst). The tv crew had a hand held dig video camera with a (cell?) telephone connection. Then the cops came and made 'em stop. "W" listened in on a cnn audio feed and the Generals at the pentagon watched on cable.

Any links available for info on that broadband two-way satelite company ?
"Waiter? Bring me shad roe."

I love food that marks the season and for me early spring (april-may) means shad roe. I remember last year having a great breakfast on Shelter Island, and although I have trouble remembering the exact ordering of events, I know it must have been a year ago because it featured shad roe. It's sort of like a caviar hotdog. We just fry it up in a little olive oil (low heat, maybe 10 minutes, YMMV) and serve with scrambled eggs. I guess people use capers and other stuff, but the taste is so strong, I don't think they're necessary. MB did a repeat performance this morning (with a side of leftover brocolli rabe) and I was in heaven. Spring is in the air. She bought that great piece at Incredible Edibles in Grand Central Station, but I'm sure you can find it all over right now. Here's some info on the mighty tasty shad. Give it a try. You won't be sorry.

Yesterday I killed 2 rats with one hawk: I saw the re-released Japanese animation classic Akira and my first DLP (digital widescreen) movie. Akira is playing at the AMC 25 on 42nd Street, which is a spectacle in itself if you haven't been. It's a five-story, high-tech, high-kitsch multiplex with stadium seating, perfect sound, and NO CUSTOMERS! It's like the home entertainment system from heaven--GO, before AMC declares bankruptcy and lets the whole thing get run down.

Anyway, about DLP: Everything is in sharp focus, the colors are bright and true, there are no hairs or specks, but there is a faint, evenly-distributed grain that runs through the entire image. After a half-hour or so you don't really notice it. No eye-strain, no headaches; like CDs, in some ways it's superior to analog and in some ways not. I'll have to see a non-animated movie before I completely judge the process.

And about the re-released Akira: WOW! I've seen it several times on murky VHS and wasn't prepared for the Blade Runner-like depth and complexity of the widescreen version. The movie's been cleaned up and digitally remastered and everything's bright and sharp. The scenes of Neo-Tokyo are incredibly densely-layered, and when Tetsuo turns into a giant, mutating, HP Lovecraft Mecha-blob at the end, you can see all the horrible, sublime stuff you only thought you were seeing on the video. The little snots at Time Out call the movie "incoherent," but I prefer the Voice's "hermetic." One goes to anime for gorgeous drawing, surreal imagination, and lightning-fast action, not Raymond Chandler-like plotting. Animes are always delphic, weaving together post-WWII nuclear terror, cyborg speculation, and weird meditations on childhood trauma. One thing I'd forgotten about Akira: the characters are naturalistic (i.e., Japanese-looking)--no Bambi-like, swimming-pool eyes. Don't get me wrong, I love the eyes and exaggerated coiffure, but it's interesting that Akira broke the mold back in '88 and '90s productions didn't follow suit.

eat it raw?
Tomorrow's Thursday gathering serves as Bill's birthday party! (It's actually on Good Friday the 13th, so if we stay up till midnight you can ask him if he knows how old he is.) I don't think any firm plans have been hatched, so input is welcome. This could be an opportunity for early-comers to check out the Paul Laffoley show at Kent (Prince & Crosby), which should definitely been seen. It's only up till the 21st, and till 6:00 PM.
The Harry Smith Archives site has a message board in case you want to ask him somthing.
You just gotta love a rat eating Hawk
Wheel: I met the Butthole Surfers on the Lollapalooza Tour and we stays friendly until they stopped touring.

Paul Leary: Lollapalooza was the first tour where we didn't have to drive our own vehicle, set up our own equipment, tune our own guitars, and collect our own money at the end. That set us free so, we could get a little bit fucked up.

Jim Berry: We all enjoyed it because we played the second slot in the afternoon. I'd be rolling the last case in by 4:30. They always took care of us, gave us plenty of beer and liquor. Our bus was a good escape for Perry Farrell and everybody else who'd want to hang out and not be bothered. No one would think, to look on the Butthole Surfers' bus.

Hale Milgrim: They totally were into improvisation. I'm a Deadhead, and I like the Butthole Surfers for some of the same reasons. This group kept on changing their sets, kept on growing and improvising. I knew that we would have some problems with key accounts that unfortunately are into censorship. I talked to the Capitol promotion department. I said, "Look, whatever you can get the group to go along with, the 'B-Hole' Surfers, would be appreciated [by the sales and marketing staff]." But I knew what I was signing. The A&R people didn't come to me and say, "Hey Hale, we want you to sign the 'B-Hole' Surfers."

Wheel: It was after the band signed to Capitol that the started playing the same show every night, I remember one day after 4 shows that were almost the same I said "You cant do this the same people come to each show" They played some different songs that night.
Yes, we experienced a fairly severe problem this morning. The server our site is hosted on went down. I'm still unclear as to the exact time (any help?) as I didn't check in as early as I usually do. From examining the logs, I believe the server was up as late as 8:18 eastern time this morning. Sometime after that it went down, and then it was back up again 12:52 pm. Not terrible, but I was a little paniced because I could tell that it was not an intermediate router that had failed (which is what usually happens when the site is slow or unreachable) but acutally our host server. Luckily everything seems to be O.K. Knock on wood, and maybe say a little prayer (or whatever you do) to the magic elves at hurricane electric for basically keeping everything working pretty well.
jesus.com
Yes, we experienced a fairly severe problem this morning. The server our site is hosted on went down. I'm still unclear as to the exact time (any help?) as I didn't check in as early as I usually do. From examining the logs, I believe the server was up as late as 8:18 eastern time this morning. Sometime after that it went down, and then it was back up again 12:52 pm. Not terrible, but I was a little paniced because I could tell that it was not an intermediate router that had failed (which is what usually happens when the site is slow or unreachable) but acutally our host server. Luckily everything seems to be O.K. Knock on wood, and maybe say a little prayer (or whatever you do) to the magic elves at hurricane electric for basically keeping everything working pretty well.


the prisoner appreciation society

official sister site

(From the very nice blog Dave linked to: Wood S Lot)